Star Trek: Libertatis de Astri
by Wolfete
Summary: Space... the Final Frontier. This is the beginning voyage of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, To go with bold entreaty whither no one has gone before… A new


Title: Star Trek: Libertatis de Astri

Author: Wolfete

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. All identifiable characters, places, events and concepts belong to their respect creators. All other characters and events portrayed in this book either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Neither this fiction site, nor the author has received any payment for this story. However all rights are reserved by the author only, including the right to reproduce this story, or portions thereof, in any form. This includes transmitting it in any form or by any means, electronical or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the author.

Rating: PG- MA

Warnings: This story may contain fictional violence, derogatory language, racial themes, and other content not suitable for anyone under 13. If you are under 13 please exit out of this story. If you are over thirteen and have a problem with this story perhaps you should find find a story more to your liking.

A/N: This is a Work in Progress

A/N: Flames are NOT ACCEPTABLE

A/N: When I first heard that the producers and scriptwriters of Star Trek 2009 had used the time travel theme and turned the Star Trek Universe upside down I was not thrilled, however after reading the script and watching the dvd, I can say they did it tastefully. Still do not like how they destroyed Vulcan, but I guess if you want to create an entirely new universe you have to think BIG. This little monster I have begun will try to reconcile the book verse of the old universe with the new universe. It will just takes it a little further…..

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Part One: New Beginnings

Chapter One: The Honor Board

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Stardate 2257.121

0930 Hours

Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Ca.

Called from their classes, hundreds of cadets streamed across the manicured lawns and free-poured walkways of the Academy campus. It was a beautiful day, the towers of downtown San Francisco gleaming in a blue sky that had been cleared of fog by a light offshore breeze. Among the dark uniforms Kirk paced next to McCoy toward the assembly hall. Her mind still basked in the glow of yesterday's scenario…. _A perfect day for a coronation…_Not that they would give her a crown. She would settle for an office commendation in her record, maybe a plaque. A plaque would be nice, preferably one with an integrated holo projector so that visitors could admire the ceremony in three dimensions, complete with accompanying sound. She would settle for that, yes…..

" I made valedictorian," she surmised boastfully. " I bet that's what this is. Or they're going to give me special notice for being the first cadet to solve the Kobayashi scenario. Or they're going to announce a commendation on top of the valedictorian award."

Her friend regarded her with his usual jaundiced eye. " You know you might be constipated, on account of you being so full of yourself. If you elevate yourself, any more you risk breaking gravity and drifting off the planet. I don't even think even you can accomplish much in space without a ship."

" Your wrong there Bones. I don't need a ship." Kirk radiated confidence as they started up the steps leading to the assembly hall. " A simple spacesuit'll do me."

A doubtful McCoy shook his head, " Where will they ever find one big enough to fit your head?"

" C'mon, Bones. Don't be jealous."

The older man gaped at her. " Jealous? I'm not jealous of you. I'm expectant. I look forward to being able to write the first scientific paper on a cadet who died from brain hemorrhaging due to surplus of ego."

" Fine with me." Kirk winked at the doctor. It was too easy to rile him, but the banter always soothed some part of her. Easing the old apathy away. " Just make sure I'm co-credited as the author."

McCoy sighed deeply. " Jim, your incorrigible."

Jamie hesitated for a moment in the doorway of the assembly hall. Bones had never tired of her wit before, but maybe she had carried on the egotistical banter for too long. Eyeing him, she saw no anger only the blush of irritation; smiling softly, she continued. " No I'm not. I'm in the assembly hall. Lets find some room down front."

" Don't you want to sit in back so you can walk the entire length of the hall and bask for as long as possible in the glory you expect to receive?"

Kirk demurred…. The old fears and dubiety clamored in the back of her mind. For all of her words she was afraid that the win of yesterday was going to cause trouble today. Trouble that ended dreams and stifled hope….. Shuddering slightly she pasted a smile on her face, " Not a good idea. I might trip. Bad for my image."

" Trip over what? Your own teeth? You might even try keeping your mouth closed for a change."

" Why?" Kirk asked innocently, but below it was a serious tone. " False modesty never did me any good before."

When Bones did not answer, she knew that he had heard the meaning behind her words. Inside she was still the youth who had never recovered from Tarus V, never trusted words or gestures at first. It had taken a little over two years for McCoy to prove himself a steady friend before she would open up. Yet he still did not know her history, hopefully he never would, but he was still her friend. " Bones, you always have permission to speak your mind, even in the face of my growing power."

" Thanks," McCoy replied wryly. " Just don't forget that the one person on a star ship who can relieve an officer of duty is the ships doctor. And that's not you, Miss Omnipotent Farm Girl. That's me."

Kirk conceded the point as they searched the lower tier of seats for a couple of empty places. " And don't you forget the one person who can relieve the ships doctor of duty." McCoy frowned in puzzlement. Jamie let him stew a moment before reminding him. " The ship-doctor's ex-wife."

Her friend moaned.

Muted discussion filled the amphitheater as cadets continued to arrive from distant corners of the campus. Every available opening at the Academy was filled, Starfleet constantly being in need of competent trainees. Only when the exalted members of the Academy council begin to arrive did conversation start to fade. When the senior officers and school advisers took their seats, so did everyone of the cadets. At the same time and without the need for a command, all conversation ceased. Kirk was delighted to see her mentor, Captain Pike, was among those seated at the long table facing the risers. Perhaps a good sign, but lingering doubt kept her mind focused. The Academy commandant, Admiral Richard Barnett, spoke crisply into the silence.

"This session has been called to resolve a troubling matter. Jamie T. Kirk, step forward."

The formality of the occasion and the convening of the entire Academy made the walk down the stairs seem to last an eternity. Jamie had been the center of attention many times, but not like this…. This was trouble…. The commandant's gaze was even. The big man was not smiling and the faces of the other members of the council were unreadable, Pikes included. As she came to halt in front of one of the two podiums the Admiral continued.

" An incident has occurred that concerns the entire student body. Academic immorality by one is an assault on us all. It will not be allowed to stand. Cadet Kirk, evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting that you violated regulation 17.43 pursuant to the Starfleet Code of Ethical Conduct. Is there anything you care to say before we begin?"

Rapid decisions. A good part of her training involved learning how to make rapid decisions while operating under difficult circumstances. Standing there alone with the eyes of everyone in the room lasered onto her, she could hardly imagine a more difficult set of circumstances. _She was on trial…All right…If they expected her to break under the pressure…to falter and whimper, they had picked the wrong cadet._ Bolstered and calmed Jamie stood tall, "Yes, I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly."

The commandant conferred briefly with the administrator on his right, then looked back. Not at Kirk but toward someone in the audience. A figure rose. It was a humanoid but not human. At least not entirely human. Cold piercing eyes gazed out of the Vulcan's face… seeming to challenge her to defend herself. Venomously she that gaze, frowning slightly she tried to remember where she had seen him before.

The admiral continued. " Cadet Kirk, this is Commander Spock, one of our most distinguished graduates. He has programmed the Kobayashi Maru exam for the last four years. And improved it considerably in the process. At, least, it was regarded as improved until your last run-through threw many of the modifications into question. Commander...'

Spock was beckoned forward, he never once taking his ice-cold eyes off her. As he came to the second podium he began to address her formally, " Cadet Kirk, much time was spent assessing relevant information following your recent taking of the test in question. Upon careful review it became clear that you activated a subroutine that had been embedded in the programming code, an insertion that somehow succeeded in evading all protective firewalls and resets, thereby changing of the test."

Jamie forced herself to match the Vulcan's control. Any sneer would not go down at all well with the council. " Your point being?" she responded austerely.

" In academic vernacular," Admiral Barnett elucidated coolly, " you cheated."

At such moments there are two types of silence: dead quiet, and quieter than dead. The latter now gripped the entire assembly hall. Spock watched the cadet, dissecting the anger in her frame and the slight flinch that he saw when the admiral had clarified the charge. He had spent the entire night trying to work out, firstly, how she had beaten the test, and secondly, how she had had the gall to do it in the first place. According to her records, which he had spent a great deal of time pouring over, it appeared that although being a general trouble maker, she was also exceptional at survival strategies and tactical analysis. _Why cheat then?_

" Respectfully…" Jamie said hesitantly, not the least intimidated by her accusers serene confidence, but as if working out a chess move. " You wouldn't accuse me of cheating unless you knew something I don't. The test is rigged, isn't it? I pretty much figured that out after I failed it the second time. Followup research into four years of preceding failures that I carried out on my own time only confirmed what I already suspected. You programmed it to be unwinnable. Given the available parameters, there's no way of saving the Kobayashi Maru and its crew and passengers. So the only way to win is to alter the parameters."

The Vulcan's stare had not shifted, but something flashed in them. " I fail to see how that is relevant to these proceedings."

" Don't you? Allow me to enlighten you, Commander. If I'm right, if my assumptions and research are correct, then the test itself is a cheat."

'Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario,' Spock pointed out.

Kirk brindled, 'Well I don't believe in no-win scenarios.'

'Then not only did you violate the rules,' Spock told her eloquently, 'but you also failed to understand the principle lesson that is embodied in the test."

Jamie scoffed, 'Please, enlighten me.'

'You of all people should know, Cadet Kirk."

Jamie froze at his words…. Almost as if she had been punched in the gut. The crowd behind her hummed with muted murmurs at his comment. With a high temper she interrupted the Vulcan before he could continue, " I of all people?"

'Your father,' Spock continued, 'Lieutenant George Kirk assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action. Through his act, the lesson should have been clear. A captain cannot cheat death. The inevitable must be met with as much skill and resolution as possible. When winning is self-evidently not an attainable goal, the objective must be to preserve and protect as much as one can. This is a captain's task. That is the task of whoever is forced to take the Kobayashi Maru test. To achieve what can be achieved when survivability is no longer an option. To achieve- not to evade."

Kirk replied hastily, unable to help herself. As it was, it was all she could do to keep from charging across the aisle and slamming her fist into that smug Vulcan face. 'I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test."

If her response was intended to elicit an emotional response it did not come close to succeeding, instead, Spock's nostrils flared slightly and a sculpted eyebrow rose, " I am a Vulcan. Like is not a verb in our vernacular. I fail to comprehend your indignation," he confessed. " I've simply made the logical deduction that when considering your recent performance and your rationalizations for the actions you took, that you're a liar."

Kirk feigned astonishment. " What an idiot I am for taking that personally."

" At last: something on which we are agreed. Do you wish for me to continue?"

" Enlighten me further." Jamie said brashly.

"The purpose is to experience fear. Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear and maintain control of one's self and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every Star Fleet captain. Management of a crisis situation depends on a captains certainty that the crew can and will follow orders no matter how desperate or seemingly hopeless the circumstances in which they find themselves. By artificially altering those circumstances, you introduced an element that was outside the given parameters of the test. As a consequence those cadets under your command had their own responses compromised. To satisfy your own base need to win at all costs, you were willing to sacrifice their performance ratings."

The murmur rose taking on an uncomplimentary tone. Feeling as if the argument was slipping away from her, Jamie tried to counter the Vulcan's analysis. " A crisis is by definition a surprise. Moreover, a surprise by definition has no parameters. It is whatever it is at the moment it announces itself. Consequently, any action taken to counter it is self-evidently valid. Which justifies my actions. In a real life crisis situation it's often the actions taken outside accepted rules, regulations, and parameters that result in success. Following the rules-going by the book, if you'll excuse the cliché-is frequently the quickest path to disaster. Surprise needs to be met with surprise- not predictability. Not by a ship, not by its crew, and not by its captain. Evidently, we espouse different approaches to crisis management, Commander. Crisis management- taken at face value, there's no rule book for that."

Jamie was not sure, but the commander's eyes seemed to grow colder and his response cut her to the quick. " Given that your experience in space travel is limited to the day of your birth and a modest subsequent travel interval, you lack the experience necessary to make that judgment. You advocate a methodology based on assumption and emotion, not familiarity and knowledge."

Jamie dropped her head…. _Modest subsequent travel interval? He must not have high enough clearance to pry into the classified files. I have more than enough familiarity to make my own judgments…_As she reflected Spock watched with a small measure of pleasure. He had learned to trip his fellow classmates with their own emotions in debate and this situation was no different or at least to his knowledge it was no different.

Under less control Jamie launched back into the argument, " Have you taken the test, Commander Spork?"

" Spock." He corrected her stoically. " As a Vulcan, I require no additional training to control my narcissism when making command decisions. They are and will always be invariably based on reason, logic, and the facts, as they exist in reality. Not as we might wish them to be in order to conveniently fit some private notion of how the universe is supposed to operate."

Another round of murmuring drifted through the assembled cadets, and for the second time Kirk was aware that she had lost a point in the ongoing debate. At this rate, she would not have to worry about being appointed valedictorian. Several additional exchanges like the most recent one and she would find herself cashiered right out of the Academy and on her way back to Iowa. _Storm Lake…. Riverside Spaceport…Anywhere but there again._ That scenario frightened her far more than anything the council might do to her.

Despite the Vulcan's seemingly unassailable rhetorical brilliance, Kirk was not lacking for a comeback. She was about to propound it when an officer unexpectedly appeared and marched smartly up the dais. Handing a hardcopy to the commandant, he leaned over and whispered something in the admiral's ear. This was followed by a short, tense exchange of words. As the intruding officer stepped back, Admiral Barnett rose from his chair. Every eye in the amphitheater locked onto the commandant.

" This is a Red Alert- We have received a distress call from Vulcan. With our primary fleet engaged in the Laurentium system, I hereby order all officers are to report to duty stations. All first form cadets are to report to your barrack's officer in hanger one for immediate assignment. This is not a drill. I repeat—this is not a drill." The commandant paused for a moment looking over the anxious faces… _Too young…_" This hearing is at recess until further notice. Assembly dismissed attendees to comply with all applicable alert regulations."

Turning and moving fast, he exited out the back of the amphitheater. The rest of the council was close on his heels, talking animatedly among themselves. A sea of brightly colored dress tunics was set in motion as cadets hurried, under control but moving fast toward the exits. Some conversed loudly and excitedly with friends. Others broke into a run to beat the rush. No one lingered, wanting to be the last one out.

Except Kirk. The center of attention a moment earlier, she had been completely forgotten. She had watched Commander Spock disappear into the mass of personnel; in a way, she was happy to see him go. The relief did not last long as she realized that the trial was not over only paused. Abandoned to herself between assembly and council dais, she gazed paralyzed at her rapidly emptying surroundings, dazed at the conflicting emotions surging through her mind. As she stood there, a familiar figure passed quickly. Unlike during some of their previous encounters, this time Captain Christopher Pike was all business. He spoke tersely in passing in a cutting tone. " Cheating isn't winning."

Let alone with that, Jamie stood in silent contemplation of what had so unexpectedly and shockingly befallen her. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of the reverie. " Come on, Jim. You heard the order."

She shook herself. " Yes, but the accusation?"

McCoy smiled. " Didn't you hear the commandant? Recessed. School recess, but not the kind you remember. Lets move."

Nodding, Kirk followed her friend out into the corridor. There they found themselves caught up in the flow of uniforms. The atmosphere was thick with excitement and tension. Not with fear; not yet. With few details of the crisis and only a this is not a drill, few people responded in any way but how they had been trained. However, there was no conclusive proof that they were not embarking on a drill. Starfleet could be infuriating fickle about such matters, particularly when a graduating class was involved. Still, they had no choice but to proceed as if the announcement had been based on a known reality instead of some bureaucrat's idea of a clever test. Any cadet who reacted by treating the broadcast as fake would likely wind up a candidate for quick dismissal from the service.

Just as Jamie had been on the verge of becoming. _Talk about the hand of fate. First, it smacked me across the face and knocked me for a loop. Now it was dusting me off and sending me on my way. At least as long as my trial was in recess…._ The thought made her pause in misstep…Her_ trial!_ Her face darkened as she glanced over at McCoy, "Who was that pointy-eared bastard?" she inquired petulantly.

'I don't know,' said Bones frivolously, commenced to lead her out, 'but I like him!'

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